Investment Officer

Navigating the interest rate cycle is a paramount challenge for family offices in Germany, according to a survey by Roland Berger and WHU.

Luxembourg funds continued their recovery from a slight decline in October 2023 by amounting at year-end to 5.285 trillion euros, up 5.1% over the past year,

Europe’s top financial supervisory authority is warning investors of a high risk of corrections in financial markets, especially in difficult-to-value private markets such as real estate. 

Only one in five management companies in Europe are publishing a legally required statement detailing how investment decisions may negatively affect sustainability factors. This encompasses aspects like environmental, social, and employee matters, human rights, and anti-corruption.

In a significant leadership change, Robbert Booij has been announced as the new Chief Executive Officer of Eurex Frankfurt AG, taking the reins from Michael Peters in July 2024. Booij, currently the CEO Europe at ABN AMRO Clearing Bank N.V., will join the Executive Board of Eurex Frankfurt AG from 1 May 2024.

This week’s overview of transfers, appointments, promotions and other people news includes updates from Fidelity, Alma LED Luxembourg, Fundcraft and Better Finance.

Christine Baalham and Tom Record

Christine Baalham and Tom Record have been appointed as co-portfolio managers in the global equity team at Fidelity International. Veteran portfolio manager Jeremy Podger will transition to a senior advisory role in March 2024. 

M&G Investments has appointed Emmanuel Deblanc as chief investment officer to lead its 86 billion euro private markets business. Deblanc, most recently at Allianz Global Investors, brings two decades of experience in investing in private credit, structured credit, impact and private equity, real estate and infrastructure.

Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, the largest sovereign wealth fund globally, on Tuesday announced a record-breaking profit of 2.22 trillion Norwegian kronor (approximately  196 billion euro) for 2023. This achievement was primarily driven by substantial returns from investments in technology stocks.

The results marked a significant turnaround from its 1.64 trillion kronor (about 140 billion euro) loss in 2022, primarily due to a downturn in tech stocks.

Atoz Services, described as the largest tax advisory firm in Luxembourg outside the Big 4, announced on 29 January its acquisition of former rival Fund Solutions, a money-losing Luxembourg firm offering outsourced fund administration services for listed and unlisted corporations, private equity and real estate funds. 

A consortium led by French and Dutch asset managers is progressing towards setting a global industry benchmark for quantifying greenhouse gas emissions averted through low-carbon solutions.